Chapter 55

Trimming down the pathway to Buttons went pretty smoothy.

I disconnected from my mycelium a bit away from Buttons leaving the sensory network, mushrooms and mycelium I used to contact the little guy intact. Once I detached myself I started consuming my mycelium and using the pathway itself to funnel those nutrients back to my main body.

I wanted to reach buttons relatively quickly though ‘cuz while the fire was not even remotely in the area I still wanted to send water there and disperse as much water and mist spores as possible. With the pathway being cannibalized and all it’d be kinda hard to facilitate that so as I consumed the old pathway I grew the new one. Then when I reached buttons I’d reattach my new mycelium pathway to the bit of mycelium I’d left there and keep the water flowing.

The cannibalization of the experimental chem mushrooms went without a hitch as well. They were a bit different from consuming my mycelium but it could still be done. They did have those compounds in them though and I couldn’t very well consume those so I directed those compounds out through the sensory network which was pretty easy since it was still releasing water.

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The last target was where I had a bit of trouble. The pathway towards the foreign mushroom.

It was a lengthy pathway so I would definitely get more nutrients than I was getting from the pathway to buttons.

I started off by consuming the leftover sensory network I had and then I started cannibalizing the exploratory mycelium I had in the area. All that went fine.

The trouble came when I started detaching myself from the mycelium there. It was as I feared, after I disconnected I waited a few and then reconnected and found that assimilated bit in my mycelium turned rogue without my active attention keeping it in line. It violently attacked my mycelium.

I wanted to do the same as I had with buttons and leave some of my mycelium intact in the hopes of reestablishing contacting in the future, but seeing as how that failed... It wasn’t a huge issue, I could just do what I did the first time and assimilate another piece of it when I came back to the area. Unlike with buttons though I would only do so after the fire had come and gone. Too many nutrients went into making that pathway and I would need them if I wanted to stop the fire.

All these nutrients would go a long way to entrap the fire and extinguish it.

I just couldn’t help but think i'd still need more though.